San Patrignano Community

San Patrignano is one of the largest drug rehabilitation communities in the world, welcoming young men and women with drug abuse problems. Since 1978, it has provided over 25,000 people with a home, medical and legal assistance, as well as the possibility of continuing their studies, attending job training, and being reintegrated into society.

San Patrignano does not accept money from its guests, their families or the government. Of the funds necessary to maintain San Patrignano’s guests, 50% come from the profits earned through San Patrignano’s goods and services and the other 50% from private donors or companies that believe in the social value of the centre. The community is home to 1,350 people who eat together each day in the main dining room in a family setting. Recent studies conducted by several major universities show that 72% of those who completed the programme at San Patrignano are fully reintegrated into society and remain drug-free and 71% end up working in the field in which they received training at San Patrignano.

Building marketable skills is one of San Patrignano's fundamental goals. The community has provides high-quality training in handmade textiles, leather goods, wrought iron, wine and gourmet foods, dog and cattle breeding, IT, and printing, among others. The resulting products and services are used both internally and sold externally: fully 80% of the food consumed is grown and produced on site. A medical centre with 50 beds specializes in treating the diseases related to drug abuse. San Patrignano’s database is a respected source of scientific data for diseases related to drug addiction. San Patrignano also hosts those convicted of drug-related crimes, giving them the opportunity to follow a rehabilitation and recovery programme instead of going to prison.

San Patrignano serves as a model for other organizations and governments that which to create treatment centres based on the same vision. The centre also offers a 7-day course to further access to San Patrignano expertise in the field of recovery from addiction for practitioners in the field.